This invention relates to a device for plumbing construction members, such as structural steel columns and the like.
The construction industry has traditionally used plumb bobs for achieving exact vertical placement of column and wall forms and similar building units. More recently, laser devices have been employed for both leveling and plumbing operations. In one such laser device, a beam of laser light spins in either a horizontal or vertical plane for horizontal or vertical alignment, whereas for plumbing the beam is directed upward and downward, from floor to ceiling.
Despite the precision available using laser devices, they are often disadvantageous due to their cumbersome size. Where they combine both plumbing and leveling operations, they are even more bulky and hard to work with. Their sophisticated make-up obviously gives rise to high cost and maintenance. Also, none of the laser devices has been developed for use in a single-step plumbing operation, but only in combination with leveling systems. As a result, the laser devices are not self-leveling but must themselves be adjusted for each operation to make sure they are level.
In accordance with the present invention, a point to point, self-leveling plumbing device comprising a gimbal-suspended tubular housing, having vertically centered pinpoint light sources at either end, is provided for achieving a one-step, low-cost plumbing operation. Preferably, battery-powered light bulbs having concave reflectors at their bases, are disposed within the housing and emit light beams at either end, the upper and lower beams being aligned. Colluminating and magnifying lenses are contained in nose cones threaded onto each end of the housing, the nose cones being movable so as, together with the lenses, to allow focusing of the light beams to a spot a given distance from the device.
It is a particular object of this invention to provide a safe, low-cost plumbing device that can be operated by a single person.
It is a still further object of this invention to provide a plumbing device that can be operated without any time-consuming adjustments.
A further object of this invention is a plumbing device for plumbing in one operation a point such as that which is formed by the intersection of two lines.
The above and other objects of the invention will be apparent from the ensuing description and appended claims.